Kirby Mass Attack
Nintendo DS Japan Nintendo Network @ E3 2011 |re-released = Wii U Virtual Console |genre = 2-D Platformer |modes = SingleplayerOfficial Nintendo Japan site |ratings = |price = GameStop (September 25, 2011) |platforms = Nintendo DS }} Kirby Mass Attack is the fourth and final ''Kirby'' game for the Nintendo DS, originally released in Japan on August 4, 2011, and was then later released on September 19, 2011 in North America; on October 10, 2011 in Europe; on October 27, 2011 in Australia; and on December 1, 2011 in South Korea. Released in the system's waning years, it was not a high profile title at E3 2011, although its US title was announced during the press conference in the form of a logo pop up nearing the end, which had mainly highlighted the Wii U and the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda franchise. Nintendo did not have a designated area for the Nintendo DS, so the game's playable representative at the convention was a Japanese demo of the game presented by roaming attendants in the Wii U area. A localized demo of the game was made available for download through the Nintendo Channel for users who own both a Nintendo DS and Wii on September 8th; this demo was eliminated upon the Nintendo Channel's discontinuation on July 27, 2013. The unlockable sub-games in Kirby Mass Attack make many references to past games in the series and Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, in gameplay, key characters, and Copy Abilities. The game saw re-release for the Wii U Virtual Console platform in PAL regions and in Europe on December 3, 2015; in Japan on March 2, 2016; and in North America on July 28, 2016. Plot Introduction KMA Kirby.png KMA Necrodius.png KMA Necrodius2.png KMA Kirby split.png KMA Kirby down.png KMA Kirby follow.png Excerpt from game introduction - "A Bold Start!" One day, Kirby went exploring in the Popopo Islands, in the south of Popstar. He was snoozing in a field, napping the day away. But then dark clouds filled the sky, and a skull-faced fiend descended. It was Necrodeus, the leader of the Skull Gang. The Skull Gang wanted to drown light in darkness. Necrodeus raised his staff and struck Kirby with his mischievous magic. Necrodeus split Kirby into 10 copies of himself, each having only a fraction of Kirby's greatness! The fiend was easily able to defeat each of these weaker Kirbys. Before long, there was only one Kirby left. Popstar was about to lose its greatest defender... and plunge into darkness forever. As the last Kirby raised his head, he saw a star shining brightly. That light was from Kirby's own heroic heart, which had flown to safety. His heart called out to him! "Kirby! Follow me! We can fight Necrodeus together!" So began Kirby's quest to save Popstar — and restore Kirby back to his usual self! If they could defeat Necrodeus, they could use his magic staff to make everything right! Events approaches Kirby]] Kirby starts out at Green Grounds, where Daroach approaches him in his airship and offers his help. He asks Kirby to collect medals, which he claims to have a magical power to dispel the magical darkness surrounding Necrodeus' stronghold, which makes it impossible to approach. After Kirby defeats Skullord, Daroach tells Kirby that in order to enter Necrodeus's lair, Necro Nebula, he needs to get every single rainbow medal, one hidden in each stage. After collecting all of the rainbow medals, the power of the rainbow treasure appears and gives him access to the fifth and final world, Necro Nebula. Kirby then confronts the four bosses he met along the way in Necro Nebula before commencing a final showdown against Necrodeus. Epilogue KMA Kirby together.png KMA Kirby smile.png KMA Kirby home.png Excerpt from epilogue - "Kirby among the Stars" The Kirbys finally defeated Necrodeus — thanks to the heroic heart that had guided them every step of the way! Necrodeus faded into oblivion, leaving his staff floating in space. The heroic heart called out to the Kirbys... "Now! Everyone, grab the staff! Use its magic!" The Kirbys... became one whole Kirby again! A Warp Star soared into view and picked up Kirby! As Kirby flew home, he looked out across the cosmos. The stars were so beautiful. Darkness had its place just as much as light, he thought. For the stars sparkled twice as bright in the dark depths of space! As Kirby soared onward, he saw Pop Star in all its glory! Pop Star had never looked so wonderful. It shone like a brilliant beacon of hope. Kirby left the darkness of space behind, glad to be home at long last. - The End - Gameplay While Kirby Mass Attack is a Kirby platformer, there are a few fundamental differences that makes it completely different from all the other titles. This is the first time where the player can control up to ten individual Kirbys instead of just one, although each has much more limited capabilities than the single Kirby due to Necrodeus' spell. Health system The health mechanic for the game does not follow the tradition where Kirby gobbles up Food to replenish lost health. Food no longer heals Kirby, but instead fills a meter which drops another Kirby down from the sky to join the existing group when completely filled. It takes 100 points to fill up the meter. The only food available in the parts of Dream Land featured in the game is fruit. There are four different kinds of fruit, and different fruit give different values towards the meter. A fifth fruit, grapes, was planned to appear in the game, but was scrapped. There are several ways to obtain fruit: Defeating enemies, bumping Kirbys into fruit trees and into certain floating crates will cause fruit to be dropped onto the ground, which the Kirbys can pick up. Each Kirby essentially only has one point of health, and they turn blue when hit. If a blue Kirby is hit again, he will turn into a grayish-white angel and slowly float into the sky. Before he floats off the screen, however, the player can launch a Kirby and drag the defeated ally to the ground — this makes him return to his blue, hurt state. There are restoration areas similar in function to the ones in Kirby Air Ride which return hurt Kirbys back to pink. These are called Recovery Rings. Collecting any item gives points towards a high score (top-right on the top screen). If the player is already at the maximum number of Kirbys, filling up the Kirby meter gives a 10,000 point bonus towards the high score instead. That means it is desirable to play through any stage with a full complement of Kirbys to get the highest score possible. The player is rated at the end of each stage with a star - bronze, silver, or gold, depending on whether no Kirbys were lost (bronze), no Kirbys were defeated (silver), or no Kirbys got hurt at all (gold). The player is not awarded with a star at all if he/she properly loses a Kirby. Stages The main goal in the game is to gather a large number of Kirbys in a stage by collecting fruit, and successfully bringing enough of them to the end of the stage and back to the overworld map. In stages, certain obstacles can only be removed when there are enough Kirbys pulling or pushing on it, and individual stages can only be entered from the overworld map only if the number of Kirbys matches or exceeds the number needed to get into the stage - the game depicts the Kirbys pressing on a switch. Every main level hub has its stages represented in concentric circles, with links in between, and the boss in the center. Stages leading to the boss fight have increasingly-larger numbers of Kirbys needed. There is no specific order by which the stages need to be cleared, but stages are unlocked several at a time by activating rainbow bubbles which create rainbow bridges. Some stages must be unlocked by hitting a switch at the end of another stage. There are initially a total of four levels in the game: Green Grounds, Sandy Canyon, Dedede Resort, and Volcano Valley, each with twelve stages except the first, which has eleven. Eventually, Necro Nebula, the fifth and final level, opens up with four stages and the final boss fight (which the game does not count as a stage), bringing the total stage count to 51+1, excluding sub-games. Travelling between one world to another brings the Kirby count back down to one, since Skullys roam the skies and pluck Kirbys off the Warp Star as they fly. However, as long as a certain stage of the destination level has been previously cleared, all food except Maxim Tomatoes in that stage turn into melons that give 30 points each, allowing the player to quickly build back up to the maximum number of Kirbys. Once the player reaches 10 Kirbys, the bonus fruit turn back into the usual apple and banana mix. Unlocking Necro Nebula makes the Skullys patrolling the first four islands flee, so the number of Kirbys no longer is reduced when travelling between islands except when heading to Necro Nebula. After the game is cleared, there are no more enemies in the skies of Planet Popstar and the Kirbys can move between any island safely. Medal collectibles are hidden behind obstacles throughout the game - collecting them unlocks sub-games and Checklists when their number reaches a certain threshold. There are between either three or five in each stage, and there are two types; a gold one, and a shiny rainbow-colored one. Both count towards unlocking extras, but only by collecting all the Rainbow Medals will Necro Nebula be unlocked. There is always one hidden, special Shortcut Door leading to a short cut in the form of a catapult in each stage. As long as it is found in a previous play-through, the next time Kirby journeys through the area, he has the option of taking the catapult to largely bypass the trickiest parts of the stage, although that would mean missing out on most of the collectibles and points as well. Also, if the player fails to complete a stage three times, Invincible Candy will appear in parts of that stage to help the player. This is different to the regular Jumbo Candy variety that makes the Kirbys larger - it just makes them invincible. Controls s falling over each other to follow the heroic heart]] Kirby Mass Attack is played exclusively with the stylus on the Nintendo DS's Touch Screen, similar to Kirby: Canvas Curse. The player's stylus moves Kirby's heroic heart, which the Kirbys faithfully follow around. Tapping on any location and the Kirbys will try to move there. Double-tapping makes them dash instead of walk. Tapping on an enemy or object sends all the Kirbys on it. They will pummel enemies and attempt to pull down whichever obstacle is in their way, as long as there are enough Kirbys to perform the action. Flicking the stylus while on a cluster of Kirbys will send them in the direction of the movement one by one. Sending them bouncing off certain trees will dislodge fruits. Holding the stylus in place for a while makes all the Kirbys cluster around the heroic heart, which starts glowing. Dragging the stylus on the screen at this point will draw a line similar to drawing Rainbow Lines in Kirby: Canvas Curse, and the player has limited ink as well, but the Kirbys follow the heart closely instead of following any drawn line. Some occasions call for tapping a button that pops up to help the Kirbys to pull or push an object or enemy. Sub-games Islands *Green Grounds *Sandy Canyon *Dedede Resort *Volcano Valley *Necro Nebula Characters Playable Characters *Kirby *Heroic heart Allies *Bat *Big Birdee *Birdee *Daroach *Doc *Heroic heart *Rhino Beetle *Spinni *Squeakers *Storo *Wee Birdee Bosses In-game Bosses *Whispy Woods *Lady Ivy *King Dedede *Skullord *Necrodeus Sub-game Bosses | }} Mid-bosses In-game Mid-bosses Big Birdee | Big Warwiggle | Block Waddle Dee | Buzzybat | Freezy Rex | Giga Clanksprout | Great Gear | Hamsturr | King Eelongo | Mega Stactus | Moley | Mothership | Quadgun | Shadowbite | Skullseer | Steelsnapper | Tortletummy Sub-game Mid-bosses | }} Enemies In-game Enemies Sub-game Enemies Beanbon | Big Beanbon | Bio Spark | Blade Knight | Bombot | Bouncy | Bronto Burt | Cappy | Capsule J2 | Dekabu | Flamer | Flotzo | Fuu fuu | Giant Beanbon | Gordo | Grindarr | Kabu | Little Woods | Mini Lobster | Mogmole | Oohroo | Parasol Waddle Dee | Parasol Waddle Doo | Scarfy | Skully | Squishy | Stactus | Starman | Sword Knight | Tac | Tookey | Twizzy | Twister | Waddle Dee | Waddle Doo | Wheelie Items and Objects | }} Music /Music}} Demo Version The playable demo version of Kirby Mass Attack was just one stage long — Stage 1 of Green Grounds, specifically. However, this version had some slight differences: *The Kirby Mass Attack logo was changed to say, Kirby Mass Attack Demo Version. The screen shown before the stage also has "Demo Version" displayed on it. *Many apples have been replaced with bananas and melons. Even some bananas were replaced with melons. *After the Beanbon fight inside the tree, the Kirbys must break Star Blocks to progress. In the demo, the Star Blocks are replaced with metal blocks, and the Kirbys must destroy them by hitting an explosive block. *Some minor parts of the landscape have been changed. *Only one medal exists in the demo. Other medals are entirely removed or replaced with fruit. *A turnip was moved to a further position. A Big Beanbon and two Star Blocks exist where it should be. Another Big Beanbon appears toward the end of the stage. *A cluster of Star Blocks (each containing a banana) and an explosive block replace the Recovery Ring and Recovery Ring sign. *The stage's Shortcut Door does not exist in the demo. *A turnip-like plant growing in the ground was moved to a further position. Three Beanbons exist where it should be. *Six Star Blocks beneath a Snoozroot were changed to six metal blocks. *The Autocannon and the clip with Big Birdee are completely removed. Instead, Kirby can get a Maxim Tomato by crashing though metal blocks with a Beanbon. *After the stage is cleared, a congratulations screen will appear. Art of ten Kirbys, King Dedede, a Waddle Dee, and a Skully are depicted. The text on the screen reads: "THANKS FOR PLAYING! In Kirby Mass Attack, many things are possible only once you have 10 Kirbys." Once the player hits the Next button, more text will appear: "We hope you enjoyed growing your Kirby crew as big as possible in this demo!" A Title Screen button will appear, and the player can replay the demo if he/she chooses to. Promotion To promote Kirby Mass Attack’s launch in North America, "Kirby Snack Attack Trucks"--frozen treat trucks painted to look like the game's box art--toured three American cities during 2011. They visited New York City's Rockefeller Plaza on September 14, the San Francisco Bay Area on September 14-15, and Houston's Upper Kirby neighborhood on September 16-18. These trucks offered frozen fruit snacks and Kirby Mass Attack demos to consumers.NintendoDestructoid Reception Reception for Kirby Mass Attack has been positive with the game being praised for its intricate use of the Nintendo DS's stylus-touch screen controls. The game has aggregate scores of 83/100 at Metacritic, based on 46 reviews, and 84.36% at Game Rankings, based on 28 reviews.http://www.gamerankings.com/ds/609573-kirby-mass-attack/index.html As of the end of March 2012, Kirby Mass Attack has sold 1.06 million units. Of that, 410,000 units were sold in Japan and 640,000 units were sold overseas. Piracy After Kirby's Dream Course, Kirby Mass Attack is the second Kirby game to contain special anti-piracy safeguards beyond standard copy protection. It hangs the game while loading if the copy is detected as being artificial. Transcript Staff Trivia *The sparkles in Kirby's eyes are tiny blue stars that appear in the official game artwork, but do not appear in Kirby's sprites. *This game and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards are the only Kirby platformers to not feature the Kirby Dance at the end of a stage. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards only featured the theme, and Kirby Mass Attack is the exact opposite: it only features the dance (on the "game over" screen of Kirby Brawlball). *References to Kirby: Right Back at Ya! are made. In the Japanese version of the sub-game Strato Patrol EOS, the N.M.E. Sales Guy is seen on the 'Game Over' screen along with "Holy Nightmare" above him. However, in the English version, a picture of Nightmare is behind him instead. In the sub-game Kirby Quest, one of Kirby's moves is Kabuki Kirby, whom previously appeared exclusively in Kirby 3D; Escargoon, Chef Shiitake, and Max Flexer from Kirby: Right Back at Ya! make their respective (surprise) appearances in Kirby Quest. *''Kirby Mass Attack'' is the second game to have Kirby actually say "poyo." Kirby's Epic Yarn was the first. *King Dedede is one of the objects which can be fished out of the water in the fishing sub-game that plays after the last level. He requires the most effort to fish out of all other possible items. Also, the slice of Strawberry Shortcake seen at the beginning and end of Kirby: Squeak Squad can be caught in the fishing sub-game. *''Kirby Mass Attack'' and Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble are the only games in the ''Kirby'' series where Kirby can be KO'd by drowning. *The mid-boss music from Kirby Mass Attack is a remix from the Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards mid-boss music. *Unused pieces of a Crane Fever-style sub-gameSpritedatabase.net and a Spray Paint function can be found in the game's memory, along with many unused enemies and environmental objects. **''Kirby Mass Attack'' contains more unused code than any other game in the series. *A prerelease screenshot in a Japanese magazine shows an underwater stage with giant ice crystals in the background.Kirby's Rainbow Resort The background was changed, and the stage remains as Stage 10 of Green Grounds. *With skulls, skeletons, ghosts, zombies, cemeteries, and the motif of death in general, Kirby Mass Attack could arguably be said to have some of the most consistently dark imagery in the series. *''Kirby Mass Attack'' references Kirby's original name, Popopo, as it takes place on the Popopo Islands. *''Kirby Mass Attack'' is the latest 2D sprite-based Kirby game without any polygonal 3D graphics. *''Kirby Mass Attack''’s game over screen may be a reference to the game over screen shown in EarthBound, another game produced by HAL Laboratory. *In the Music Room in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Kirby Mass Attack is represented by an image of eight Kirbys clinging to the heroic heart. *The name Kirby Mass Attack could be a reference to Kirby: Mouse Attack, which is the European name for Kirby: Squeak Squad. Coincidentally, both games feature an appearance by the Squeaks. *The Japanese version of Kirby Mass Attack includes credits that list the names of most characters in the game. These are absent from all other versions of the game. **In the enemy credits, the sprites used to represent Stickle and Ill Gate are not the sprites used in the final version of the game. *Notes from the ESRB describe how Kirby Mass Attack earned its E rating. In addition to its cartoon violence and the sounds and effects of that violence, the notes mention the tank in Stage 2 of Volcano Valley, the turn-based combat in the Kirby Quest sub-game, Mr. Frosty's animations, and "belching sounds" produced by an unnamed boss. This boss seems to be Great Gear.ESRB *''Kirby Mass Attack'' is the non-traditional platformer in the series that is completely unique; it does not have a remake, port, or spiritual successor, nor is it a spiritual successor to another non-traditional platformer. *According to director Mari Shirakawa, the developers did not intend to create eight sub-games. They were developed separately from the main game, and despite progress on the main game being troubled at times, the production of the sub-games was consistently smooth. The developers initially planned to cut some of them, but because the sub-games were deemed fun, they decided to keep as many of them as possible.The Making of Kirby: Mass Attack *The development team worried that Kirby Mass Attack’s difficulty would negatively impact its appeal to young children. Once it was released, Shirakawa saw her niece—who was in first grade and had little experience with video games—enjoying it. She said she had finally found a game that she could have fun playing. This praise and positive comments from the Internet put the director at ease.Kirby Mass Attack's Director Discusses Designing Kirby For Children Artwork KMA Artwork1.png|Artwork on official site KirbyMassAttack1.png|Kirby KirbyMassAttack3.png|Kirby KirbyMassAttack2.png|Kirby KirbyMassAttack4.png|Kirby KMA Kirby1.png|Kirby KMA Kirby2.png|Kirby KMA Kirby6.png|Kirby KMA Kirby7.png|Kirby KMA Kirby8.png|Kirby KMA Kirby9.png|Kirby KMA Kirby10.png|Kirby KMA Kirby11.png|Kirby KMA Kirby12.png|Kirby KirbiesMassAttack2.png|Kirby KMA Kirby3.png|Kirby KMA Kirby pyramid transparent.png|Kirby KMA Kirby5.png|Kirby MassAttack1.png|Kirbys attacking an Oohroo KMA Oohroo artwork transparent.png|Oohroo KMA Waddle Dee artwork transparent.png|Waddle Dee KMA Waddle Dee3.png|Waddle Dee KMA Waddle Dee artwork 2 transparent.png|Waddle Dee MassAttack3.png|Beanbon KMA Beanbon2.png|Beanbon KMA Big Beanbon artwork transparent.png|Big Beanbon KMA Seedbon.png|Flappon KMA Mummbon.png|Mummbon KMA Zombon artwork transparent.png|Zombon KMA Zombon.png|Big Zombon KMA Whispy small.png|Little Woods KMA Blucko artwork transparent.png|Blucko KMA Cakefloof artwork transparent.png|Decofloof KMA Grindarr artwork transparent.png|Grindarr KMA Blish artwork transparent.png|Blish KMA Clanksproud artwork transparent.png|Clanksprout KMA Sanchang artwork transparent.png|Puff KMA Gobchomplin artwork transparent.png|Gobchomplin KMA Gordo.png|Gordo KMA Schnoz artwork 2 transparent.png|Schnoz KMA Skully artwork transparent.png|Skully KMA Snoozroot artwork transparent.png|Snoozroot KMA Soarar.png|Soarar KMA Spider.png|Spideroo KMA Green.png|Stactus KMA Giant Stactus.png|Mega Stactus KMA Eelongo.png|Eelongo KMA Mossy artwork transparent.png|Mossy KMA Dice artwork transparent.png|Ice Das KMA Ice Noserunt artwork transparent.png|Fuu fuu KMA Fire Pig.png|Boh boh KMA FireDude.png|Flare KMA Moggy artwork transparent.png|Moggy KMA Helmee artwork transparent.png|Helmee KMA Stickle artwork transparent.png|Stickle KMA Magma.png|Magu KMA Big Stickle artwork transparent.png|Big Stickle KMA Hamsturr artwork transparent.png|Hamsturr KMA Bat Boss.png|Buzzy Bat KMA Great Gear.png|Great Gear KMA Moley artwork transparent.png|Moley KMA Freezy Rex.png|Freezy Rex WhispyMassAttack1.png|Whispy Woods KMA Necrodeus artwork.png|Necrodeus MassAttack2.png|Green Grounds KMA World2.png|Sandy Canyon KMA World3.png|Dedede Resort KMA World4.png|Volcano Valley KMA_Mine_Cart_artwork.png|Frozen Field (Unused) KMA apple artwork transparent.png|Apple KMA Bananas artwork transparent.png|Banana KMA Melon artwork transparent.png|Melon kirby_wallpaper_b_1920x1280.jpg|Wallpaper Kirby wallpaper a 1920x1280.jpg|Wallpaper KMA Tagline.png|Game tagline KMA Background1.png|Dream Land KMA Background2.png|Dream Land KMA_Star.PNG|Star KMA_Daroach_Signature.png|Daroach's signature and quill KMA_DSi.png|Nintendo DSi Box Art KMA Box Art.jpg| > Box Art KMA Box Art back.jpg| Box Art back KMA Box Art Jap.png| Box Art Kirby Mass Attack UK.jpg| Box Art File:Kirby_Mass_Attack_Korean_Box_Art.png| Box Art Media KMA_NA_Game_Card.png| Game Card KMA_Icon.gif|Menu icon Hero1.png|Advertisement Logo KMA_logo.png| Pre-release Logo KMA_Logo2.png| Final Logo KMA J Logo 2.png| Pre-release Japanese Logo KMA J logo.png| Final Japanese Logo Kirby Mass Attack Korean Logo.PNG‎| Korean Logo Gallery KMA ss1.jpg KMA ss2.jpg KMA ss3.jpg KMA ss4.jpg KMA ss5.jpg KMA ss6.jpg KMA ss7.jpg KMA ss8.jpg KMA ss9.jpg 19.jpg 21.jpg KirbyMA 1.jpg KirbyMA 2.jpg KirbyMA 7.jpg KirbyMA 5.jpg KirbyMA 10.jpg KirbyMA 3.jpg KirbyMA 4.jpg KirbyMA 6.jpg KMA fact sheet.jpg|Pre-release fact sheet File:KMA Green Grounds.png|Green Grounds File:KMA Sandy Canyon.png|Sandy Canyon File:KMA Dedede Resort.png|Dedede Resort File:KMA Volcano Valley.png|Volcano Valley File:KMA Necro Nebula.png|Necro Nebula File:KMA ChecklistClear.png|Checklist clear screen File:KMA MedalClear.png|Medal clear screen File:KMA 100Clear.png|100% completion screen Video External links Additional information: *E3 2011 trailer *Nintendo Game Guide (Nintendo E3 2011 Network) *Official site *Official site (archived) *Official Japanese site *Official Japanese site (archived) *Japan TV advertisements (Official site) showing certain bosses, enemies and mechanics *Interview 1 (IGN, archived) *Interview 2 (1UP, archived) *Interview 3 (1UP, archived) *Nintendo financial report References de:Kirby Mass Attack es:Kirby Mass Attack fr:Kirby: Mass Attack it:Kirby Mass Attack ja:あつめて! カービィ zh:集合！ 卡比 Category:Games Category:Kirby Mass Attack Category:2010s Games Category:Non-traditional platformers Category:Games with demos